Publications by authors named "Alexia Lourtie"
Exploring symbiont gene expression in two echinoid-associated shrimp species under host separation.
Comp Biochem Physiol Part D Genomics Proteomics
December 2024
Symbiotic relationships are omnipresent and particularly diverse in the marine world. In the Western Indian Ocean, the sea urchin Echinometra mathaei associates with two obligate ectosymbiotic shrimp species, Tuleariocaris holthuisi and Arete indicus. These shrimps are known for their host-dependent nature.
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- The study investigates how adult Zenopontonia soror shrimps and their larvae recognize and recruit to seastar hosts through olfactory cues.
- It highlights that asterosaponins, initially thought to be chemical defenses of seastars, specifically attract adult shrimps to their original host species while larvae are drawn to various seastar species.
- This research is pioneering in identifying chemical cues that larvae use for host recruitment, emphasizing the critical role of chemical communication in maintaining symbiotic relationships within marine ecosystems.